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Pentagon May Send 13,000 More Guardsmen to Iraq, Official Says
By Ken Fireman

This will certainly have an impact on the amount of people (fools) who will sign up for the national guard. They are destroying our military and our country with a continued foolish ego driven war of choice. I can't stand those SOB's. I have no direct personal stake as I don't have any relatives or friends serving, but I grieve for those who are involved. What would happen if someone decided to attack us? We are weak and the world knows it.



April 6 (Bloomberg) -- The Defense Department likely will notify about 13,000 National Guard soldiers that they may be sent to Iraq as early as December to replace U.S. Army units already there, a senior defense official said.

The troops are members of four Guard brigades that have been identified for possible deployment to Iraq during the next two years, said the official, who briefed reporters at the Pentagon on condition of anonymity.

About a third of the Guard troops likely to be alerted for potential deployment have already served in Iraq, the official said. Of those, most will be going back to the conflict earlier than the five-year break between deployments envisioned by Pentagon policy, the official said.

The Guard soldiers aren't part of the U.S. buildup of forces in Iraq currently under way, although they could be used to sustain the higher troop levels into next year if U.S. commanders decide that is necessary, the official said.

The Pentagon will be alerting the affected Guard units well in advance of their potential deployment to Iraq in order to allow for training and give the soldiers, their relatives and employers time to prepare for their departure, the official said.

NBC News reported late yesterday on the plan for the Guard troops.

U.S. defense officials have warned repeatedly that the deployment of about 168,000 active-duty forces to Iraq and Afghanistan has strained the military's resources. The Pentagon in January issued rules allowing for Guard and reserve units to be redeployed sooner than once in five years; Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday it may be necessary to continue that practice for another one to two years.